He blinked, hand still on the doorknob. “You dumped me, Morgan. I’m no longer your responsibility. Not that I ever was. If you’re going to shoot, go ahead and do it.”

He turned his back to me once more, turning the doorknob. My finger tightened on the trigger, and I braced my shaking hand as best I could with my other hand. The door swung open, and I willed myself to pull the trigger. Brian stepped over the threshold, and still I stood frozen in place, statue-still except for the tremors that ripped through me.

The door started to close behind him. It was my last chance. Don’t be such a baby, I urged myself. It’s for his own good, and it doesn’t matter if he hates you for it. Hell, that might even be a good thing.

After what felt like about three years, I finally found the will to pull the trigger. Just in time for the Taser probes to thunk harmlessly into the closed door.

I could have gone after him. I could have ejected the spent cartridge from the Taser and probably gotten to him while he was waiting for the elevator. The Taser could also act as a stun gun at close range, and Brian was too much on the straight and narrow to be much of a fighter. Of course, it would be a tad inconvenient if any of my neighbors saw.

Yet despite my conviction that it was the right thing to do, I didn’t follow him. Yeah, I’m a bit of a hard-ass, but let’s face it, there was no way I could stand to hurt Brian.

Remembering that Brian wasn’t the only person I needed the Taser for, I ejected the cartridge and reloaded. I tucked the Taser into the waistband of my jeans, even though that was very uncomfortable, then got out the vacuum cleaner to get rid of the cloud of confetti-like tags the cartridge ejects when it’s fired. Andy emerged from his room, and I could feel his curious gaze on me, but he didn’t say anything, even before the roar of the vacuum cleaner filled the air.

I was winding up the cord when I heard a knock on my door. My heart leapt into my throat, and I dropped the cord, reaching for the Taser. My nerves were completely shot, so when I yanked the Taser from my waistband, I fumbled and it dropped to the floor. I practically threw myself after it as the knock sounded again.

“Relax, kids,” Adam’s voice said from the hallway. “It’s just me.”

I grabbed the Taser anyway, my heartbeat still hammering wildly. I stayed on my knees for a moment, waiting for the adrenaline rush to calm. Meanwhile, Andy opened the door.

I looked up, expecting to see Adam, but instead Brian came flying through the doorway to land on his hands and knees. I blinked in confusion, finding the strength to stand up. Adam strode through the door behind Brian, his eyes narrowed.

“Look who I found trying to leave the building, completely unprotected and unarmed,” Adam said.

Andy had started to close the door, but Dominic pushed it open again, entering the apartment less dramatically than Brian or Adam had. The whole tableau left me completely unbalanced, but I did my best not to show it.

“If I’d known we were having a party, I’d have baked a cake,” I said.

Andy and Dom laughed, but neither Adam nor Brian seemed to think that was particularly funny. Adam glared at me.

“I thought you loved this guy,” he growled. “And you were just going to let him walk out of here for Der Jäger to chew up and spit out?”

My throat tightened as Brian struggled to his feet. I could see the rug burn that reddened the heels of both his hands, and indignation surged through my veins, even as I realized Adam had probably done a good thing by preventing Brian from leaving.

“You didn’t have to manhandle him like that, asshole!” I said, then hurried to put myself between Adam and Brian. I had more to say, but Dom interrupted.

“Time out, both of you. I know how much you love to fight, but we’ve got more important things to do right now.” His voice was firm and authoritative, sure of himself. I kept thinking about him as a mildly submissive beta male—mainly because Adam was so dominant—but Dom had a steely backbone hidden beneath the nice-guy surface. And he didn’t seem to be intimidated by Adam’s death glare.

I stayed out of it as the two of them stared at each other as if they were having a silent conversation. And if I hadn’t seen it happen before between the two of them, I’d have been shocked to see Adam actually back down. He held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. Meanwhile, Brian looked back and forth between Adam and Dominic and me. His gaze finally settled on me.

“You know these guys?” he asked.

I realized with a little shock that Brian had never met Adam and Dom. Not while conscious, at least. I cleared my throat.

“Uh, yeah. These are the guys who rescued you when you were kidnapped. Adam White,” I said, pointing, “and Dominic Castello.”

Brian took a moment to absorb that, turning his attention back to Adam and Dom. “Thanks, I guess.” He looked more closely at Adam. “I’ve seen you on TV. You’re the Director of Special Forces, aren’t you?”

Adam nodded.

Brian held up his rug-burned hands. “So what’s this all about?”

Adam ignored him and looked at me. “Didn’t you tell him anything?”

Dom put a hand on his arm. “Take it down a notch.”

Adam turned to him. “When did you get so goddamn pushy?” he complained. But I noticed he didn’t make any attempt to shake off his lover’s hand.

Dominic’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and he grinned. “You can put me in my place later.”

My cheeks went hot as I sorted out the nuances in Dominic’s words. I wondered if everyone in the room heard them, or whether it was just because I had up-close-and-personal experience with them.

“I told him I had a rogue demon after me,” I said a little too loudly, trying to cover my discomfort. “He made it clear he wasn’t interested in my help, and I couldn’t talk him into staying. What did you expect me to do?”

Adam flashed me a look that told me exactly what he’d expected me to do, but with Dominic’s hand still on his arm, he managed to control his desire to tell me out loud.

Dominic smiled pleasantly at Brian. “Maybe it’s better if I do the talking so we don’t have to see any more of the snake-and-mongoose act.” Adam and I snorted in unison. Dom ignored us. “Why don’t we all sit down?”

Brian thought about that a minute, then went to sit on the couch without another word. Adam and Dom took the love seat, and Andy took the other end of the couch, leaving the middle seat for me. He refused to meet my narrowed eyes, but I couldn’t help thinking he was doing a little matchmaking. Then again, maybe he just didn’t like the idea of sitting right next to another guy on the sofa. My brain was conjuring up ulterior motives for everything.

I sat down and opened my mouth to say something—I’m not entirely sure what—but Dominic cut me off.

“Please let me do the talking. I find you and Adam entertaining, but I doubt Brian and Andrew are equally amused.”

I made a zipping-my-lips gesture, and Dominic turned his attention to Brian.

“The demon that’s after Morgan is known as Der Jäger. From what I understand, he’s the demon equivalent of a sociopath, and we all believe the easiest way for him to get to Morgan is through someone she knows and trusts. Which means you and I and Andrew are all prime targets. He’s already abandoned two hosts that we know of, which goes to show how little respect he has for human life. If he took one of us, he would destroy us and kill Morgan. I know you and Morgan aren’t together anymore, but Der Jäger might not know that—and might not care even if he does.”

Brian frowned at him. “And where do the two of you come into the picture?”

“Adam and I are Morgan’s friends,” Dominic answered, which made Adam snort with derision and Brian’s eyes narrow in speculation. I supposed he hadn’t caught the earlier innuendo that had made me so uncomfortable.